i have a ridiculous amount of thick, coarse loosely curly hair (that starts getting straighter and smooth after a few days of being in a bun)

because an elastic that would fit around my bun wouldn't likely contract enough to be secure for hours on end, and then to make matters worse, when it comes time to remove it, it's a pain to pull the elastic down the entire 3 feet of hair, even if it hadn't gotten tangled all up in it, i tend to use simple contraptions, or something that can be disassembled. (i used to use the goody ouchless that were essentially tights that were cut into loops, but they would quickly lose their elasticity and become pointless.)

i tend to use thrifted do-rags and just wrap it around the bun and tie it that way, and that works really well for day 1-2, but day 3 and onward, the smoothness of my hair (having been constrained in the bun) makes it less secure and a lot more slippery. a couple of years ago i would use a single chopstick, but then i figured the stick might be damaging it. i really need an actual hair stick with multiple long tines. i think that would be better than a single stick, and surely more secure than the do-rag. (although now that i think of it, i prefer using the silkier do-rags. i bet the cotton rags would hold better on my day 3+ hair than the silky ones. i guess i'll report back.)

Will the spin pins work on very long, thick hair? My big hair eats all of the clips, combs, etc.. that I buy. But I've seen those pins and wondered if they might work.

They make them in different sizes, but I can't vouch for long, thick hair (you are lucky!) because I have med. length fine hair. But they are super amazing and kind of blew my mind the first time I used them (with un-styled air-dried hair) and everyone was all "whoa! You got your hair done! It looks great!" and I was all "no I just bought a couple of neat bobby pins, but thanks!".

Hair sticks shouldn't cause damage. Back when I had gorgeous, long, super thick hair (thanks, 3 surgeries) hair sticks were the only thing that worked reliably with no headaches and no pulling or hair damage.

I usually used two 10"-12" sticks, or sometimes 3 or 4 6" sticks. The longer ones work best.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

I wear sticks like LW mentions all the time. I haven't tried these pins because of the curly shape, but y'all have me swayed. I didn't realize there are different sizes--thanks for the tip. Are there are tricks about how to use them/get them to stay in? (I am ridiculously excited about the prospect of new hair doodads!)

I decided to pull the spin pins out and try them. Honestly, it seems like nothing ever works for my hair except scrunchies. Surprisingly, they work well on a tighter bun. I tried a looser bun and it didn't work that well. I did try to sleep with them last night and that was a no go. I usually put a scrunchie in before going to bed and it'll fall out mid sleep which doesn't bother me. The pins are metal though so I could feel them pressing against my head when I laid down.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

the spin pins were on sale on amazon, so i decided to pick up 2 packs. (they're still on sale)

they came yesterday, and i decided to use them this morning.

(keep in mind my hair is almost to my knees) in the morning, i bunned the whole length and used 3 pins, but after a few short hours, they started to pull and dig, so i tried again. this time i wrapped half of my hair and then installed a pin and then wrapped the rest around and then put the other 3 pins in. i avoided screwing the pins close to my scalp, and so-far so good.

i'm afraid of overloading the pins, so i will always use the 4 together. (some of the reviews on amazon mentioned that the pins have a tendency to widen, and that'd make a fantastic vise grip if it widens on to my hair. i guess i'd need to get some pliers and squish it back into shape before removing it, or at the very least, wire snippers.)

but yeah, it's already 5 p.m. and i've only redone it once. i'll report back when i have completely dry hair and how they handle that. it looks so much better than the ratty 'do-rag, and the bun is flatter, and is happier in a knit hat. i bet it'd be more comfortable while driving too.

thanks for the heads up, vijita! i had no idea they existed before you mentioned them. (i bet they'll also make it super easy and comfortable when time comes to do leia buns. :-) i might need to get some packages of the mini spin pins though. we'll see. i might only need a 3rd package of the regular sized ones.)

i am a big spin pin convert. last year when i was in NY i was looking for them and couldn't find them anymore, so i'm glad to hear they are still around. when my hair's long again i'll be buying them. I shared them with a police officer friend here (lady cops need to wear a bun) and she was a big fan too (i'll need to buy a case!)

actually, in my short test, I've had them widen on me in my hair but snap back when I took them out. Also, this morning, I forced the pin in and it had messed up the pins but I was able to work it back into place (they just got out of alignment).

They work well although my morning workout did cause them to loosen a bit.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

CVS has them on buy 2 get 1 free this week (new sales start sunday) and i saw on the larger ones that there was a $1/1 coupon on the package. (they might be changing how they make them, since i saw that the mini spin pins had either metal bally tips, or the plastic tips were the exact same color as the metal.) so if you pick up 3 packages of the large spin pins with the coupon, you can get them for $11 not shabby.

i also decided (against the negative amazon reviews) to pick up one of the bun spirals. we'll see. maybe i have enough hair for it to be effective. or maybe it'll start shifting after an hour. will report back.

oh wow. this spiral really distributes the weight a lot better than that single spin pin in the center of my bun. HOWEVER, it gets filled with hair before it tucks completely into the bun, so there's a semicircle of metal at the back of the bun. luckily for me, i have a lot of hair that i can continue wrapping around it after it goes into the base bun. (i have to spin it into the first round of hair like i was doing with the individual spin pin above in order for it to not be floppy)

unfortunately my CVS only had the gold one, so it's really obvious if i don't strategically drape my hair over it.

so, i need the bun spiral and a few extra spin pins (minis seem to be perfectly adequate since they don't have to be weight bearing) to anchor the length to the base bun. i'm glad i took the leap of faith. at the end of a long day, the spot that'd be covered by a yarmulke would really hurt, since the bulk of the hair was being held up by that one anchor pin. i'm not saying that's not going to happen with the spiral. only time will tell. but i have a good feeling about this. also, i think i might be able to wrap my hair less tight. that might also allow the spiral to be pushed further into my hair, and might hide better. i'll keep reporting back. :-)

OMG. I seen this thread t'other night and bought some knock-offs for 2 quid for four off Ebay and the are the BEST THINGS. I've never been able to put my hair into a bun (I work in a library! That's criminal! /stereotypes) and have super-long thick as you like it hair and two of these wee spinny things have kept it up all day! Revelation!

_________________#sexysocialism

"I will take a drugged, sex-crazed, punk rock commie over Mrs. Thatch any day of the week" - Vantine

bumping from forever ago to say thank you to Dr. Apricot and missmuffcake! i have been suffering in silence with my dumb goody ouchless hair elastics for YEARS now, and i didn't even know these scunci rubber-bracelet thingies existed. i just bought a pack at walgreens a couple of days ago, and i'm amazed at how wonderful they are. yippee!!

_________________i'm not around much, but that doesn't mean i don't love you.